Leinster SHC: Dublin 3-32 Antrim 1-18
With 40 minutes gone at Parnell Park, and Dublin leading by just four points, the mind wandered back to Kilkenny’s Nowlan Park last month.
Antrim were playing Kilkenny that day and lost by 32 points, suggesting that there must be a considerable gap between Dublin and the Cats.
Half an hour or so later we were left looking up at a scoreboard in Parnell Park which reported a 20-point win for Dublin and, shortly after again, news filtered through that Kilkenny had drawn with Carlow. Dublin were top of the Leinster championship table after three games. Go figure.
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That is the magic and chaos of the hurling championship and where it takes Dublin from here will be riveting.
They struggled with Antrim for a 20 or so minute spell either side of half-time but when they got going, they burned off the Ulster side to the extent that the Saffrons were left with scorch marks.
From the 40th minute onwards, Dublin outscored the visitors by 2-18 to 0-8 with second-half goals from Brian Hayes and Donal Burke, the latter finished with 1-11 overall, propelling the 2013 champions to the giant win
| Leinster: How they stand | P | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Kilkenny | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Wexford | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Galway | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Antrim | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Carlow | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
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Paul Crummey’s goal after just nine seconds gave an early indicator of just how much Dublin, who needed a fluke late goal to beat Antrim in the league, wanted this win.
They will return to Parnell Park next weekend for what is now a blockbuster clash with Kilkenny, a point behind them in the table. If Dublin could win that one, the Leinster final would beckon.
Not that manager Micheal Donoghue is counting his chickens. He said knock-out hurling isn’t even secure at this stage with the Cats and his native Galway still to come in rounds four and five.
“I think it’s too early to say that,” said Donoghue of being through already. “Our vibe to the lads the whole time is that we’ve got to stay going. I still think there’ll be twists and turns so we’ll just focus on ourselves and see where we are after game five.”
The 2017 All-Ireland winning Galway manager did acknowledge that a Leinster final place is a realistic target.
“Yeah, it is,” he nodded. “That’s why getting over stop three today and putting ourselves in a good position for steps four and five is so important. It was important that we got the win to continue that drive.”
It’s desolation again for Jekyll and Hyde Antrim who have slipped to their second big beating in just three games.
They lost by that 32-point margin at Nowlan Park in Round 1 yet, in between the two shellackings, they somehow beat Wexford.
They must have fancied their chances before travelling to Dublin but this was a different set of Metropolitans and when Crummey flicked to the net for their opening goal after only seconds, it already looked ominous.
Dublin got joy from their press on Antrim’s puck-out and Crummey continued to be a real problem for the Saffrons defence, helping the hosts to lead 1-7 to 0-2 after 21 minutes.
They got the gap out to 10 points following scores from Sean Currie, Cian O’Sullivan and John Bellew but Antrim rallied briefly, cutting the deficit to six at half-time and whittling it down to four after the restart.
That was as good as it got for the Ulster outfit though who folded like a deck of cards under the weight of the Dubs onslaught.
Dublin went to town on them in the closing half-hour with 58th and 63rd minute goals putting the gloss on the big win. Currie and Conor Burke finished with five points each from play and Ronan Hayes added real penetration when he came on, contributing directly to 2-3.
Dublin: S Brennan; J Bellew (0-2), E O’Donnell, P Smyth; C Crummey, C Donohoe (0-1), P Doyle; C Burke (0-5), B Hayes (1-0); F Whitely (0-1), D Burke (1-11, 1-8 frees), D Sutcliffe (0-1); S Currie (0-5), C O’Sullivan (0-2), P Crummey (1-0).
Subs: R Hayes (0-2) for P Crummey 47, D Power (0-1) for Sutcliffe 59, J Madden for C Crummey 64, J Malone for O’Sullivan 65, S Gallagher (0-1) for Currie 69.
Antrim: R Elliott; N O’Connor, P Burke, C Boyd; G Walsh (0-2, one free), R McGarry, C Bohill; K Molloy (0-2), E Campbell (0-3); N Elliott (0-1), J McNaughton (1-2), N McKenna (0-1); A O’Brien, C Cunning (0-4, four frees), S Elliott (0-2).
Subs: J McLaughlin for O’Brien 47, P Boyle for Molloy 50, F McCurry (0-1) for Boyd 55, C McGarry for McKenna 62, S McKay for Cunning 66.
Referee: K Jordan (Tipperary).
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